Feeds and Feeding. 



Measured by a single week's performance, cow No. 1 was the bet- 

 ter animal, for in that time she gave 36 per ct. more milk and slightly 

 more fat than cow No. 2. By the yearly record, however, it was 

 found that cow No. 2 gave nearly 2,000 Ibs. more milk and nearly 

 100 per ct. more fat than cow No. 1. Time, the scales, the Babcock 

 fat test, combined with good judgment, are all essential in determin- 

 ing the true value of dairy cows. 



690. A cow census. Many years ago Hoard's Dairyman, by 

 means of trained representatives, began studying the returns from 

 cows on dairy farms in many states and under varying conditions. 

 Prom the great accumulation of data, the following summary by 

 Kingsley 1 covers the yearly returns from 100 herds containing 1,935 

 cows, whose milk went to 8 creameries in 3 counties in northwestern 

 Illinois: 



Summary of the Hoard's Dairyman cow census in northwestern Illinois. 



Nearly all data heretofore presented concerning cows have come 

 from the experiment stations. This table shows the conditions as they 

 exist on dairy farms in a great Western state. 



691. Annual feed requirement. The next table condenses studies 

 covering from 1 to 6 years at 9 widely separated American stations, 

 showing the yearly feed requirement of cows and their returns in 

 milk and fat. 



We learn that the pasture period ranged from 131 days in Min- 

 nesota to 191 in Missouri. At the Wisconsin Station, only 1,200 Ibs. 

 of hay and less than 1 ton of concentrates were fed per cow, the 

 soilage and silage exceeding 9,000 Ibs. per cow. In New Jersey the 



1 Hoard 's Dairyman, 39, p. 537. 



